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El Chapo Recaptured; Investigation into Shooting of Philadelphia Police Officer; North Koreans Celebrate Nuclear Detonation. Aired Midnight-12:30a ET

Aired January 09, 2016 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[00:00:12] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Recaptured at last, the Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is back in custody months after his infamous jailbreak.

An ISIS inspired ambush in the U.S. a man confesses to shooting a police officer in Philadelphia. Claiming allegiance to the Islamic state.

And South Korea retaliates with sound. Speakers blare propaganda messages in to the North after Pyongyang's suppose h-bomb test.

It's all ahead here on CNN Newsroom.

Hello everyone. We are live in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'm Natalie Allen.

And our top story is from Mexico where authorities there have recaptured fugitive drug lord Joaquin Guzman, better known as "El Chapo." Just a short time ago in the past hour, Mexican forces escorted him, seen there in the blue shirt, out of armored vehicle in Mexico City and in to a navy helicopter to send him back to the same prison, just outside of Mexico City he escaped from last July.

Mexican navy personnel arrested Guzman in a raid in the coastal city Los Mochis early Friday. Five of Guzman's associates were killed in the operation. Last hour, Mexico's attorney general outlined the final moment leading up to get Guzman capture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARELY GOMEZ GONZALEZ, MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL (Through Translation): A surveillance operation was set up for a period of one month. As of January 6th, movements, unusual movements started to be observed within the daily routine of that house. And the early arrival of a vehicle at the morning of the 7th was highlighted.

Leads gathered in the field and certain intelligence give a certainty that the criminal Guzman Loera was inside of that house. After a timely and efficient planning in the early morning of today, an operation was set in operation by government troops. When these elements arrived at the House they were attacked by gun fire. Heavy caliber from inside the House. The attack was repelled. As a result, one member of the navy was hurt and five attackers were killed. At the same time, we achieved the arrest of six additional people. During this confrontation, Guzman Loera managed to hide through the sewer system of the town which had been considered in the capture strategy.

This action, he did along with his chief of security Jorge Chabat (ph) was still our last. This is a very dangerous criminal. Who's also part of the 122 priority objects of organized crime. This operation and this persecution. Male personnel followed through the tunnels and the drainage ditches and when they found the two criminals there, they opened a trap trying to get out in to an avenue and try to escape by vehicles.

When the alert was given that these vehicles were stolen in the area, federal police complemented a security operation to find the units and to stop the criminals.

When one of the vehicles was located on the highway in the (inaudible). Elements of the forces that were participating on this intercepted and stopped Guzman Loera and (inaudible) with the objective of securing the criminals and protecting the elements these were transferred to a nearby motel to wait for reinforcements. A few moments later they were transferred to the airport moches (ph) subsequently to the city of Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Joining me now is Jan-Albert Hootsen, a Dutch journalist based in Mexico and he has done extensive investigative work on El Chapo's drug cartel, the Sinaloa cartle. Thank you for joining us Jan.

JAN-ALBER HOOSTEN, DUTCH JOUNALIST LIVING IN MEXICO CITY: Thank you for having me.

ALLEN: Well, let's get your reaction since you've covered this extensively to the fact he was captured yet again.

[00:05:00] HOOSTEN: He was captured yet again, six months after he escaped last year. And for the Mexican government this has been -- you can hear them exert a huge sigh of relief, because for them, this is in a way to restore, to repair some of the damage that his escape inflicted on their image.

ALLEN: Let's talk about question of extradition. The United States requested he be sent to the United States because he faces charges here, but Mexico has denied that in the past. So what kind of position are they in now with that question?

HOOSTEN: Well, the Mexican government is that difficult position. In 2014, when Chapo was arrested for the second time, the Mexican government said with bit rebate though (ph) that he would have to stay 300, 400 years in Mexico before any extradition could be contemplated. Then he escaped which severely damaged the level of trust between the U.S. and Mexican authorities.

There is an official request for extradition and the Mexican government is not in a position in which it is kind of almost impossibly resist the demand for extraditing Chapo. But then again Chapo's lawyers are real -- most likely file injunctions which could delay extradition for an extended period of time. So right now, the Mexican government is going to need to extradite him at some point but still -- the question is how long that's going to take.

ALLEN: And let's talk about his capture. Certainly he's always surrounded by armed guards, much -- many guns, all kinds of things to keep him alive. During shootouts he is known tunnelling in United States out of prisons, out of his home. What do hear about how they finally got him?

HOOSTEN: According to sources -- said something about today's capture, he was found based on a tip in a home in Los Mochis in Sinaloa. Mexican authorities started an operation very early in the morning today. The shootout ensued and allegedly Chapo escaped from that shootout in which five people were killed. Some say through a drainage pipe which might explain why his shirt was so dirty on the pictures that have been shown to the media.

And later on he was found in a motel in the outskirts of the city. So, unlike the last time in 2014 this was a pretty violent operation. And certainly the shootout, in which five people were killed, that definitely shows that he was prepared for any kind of attack.

ALLEN: And we know that some of the -- his members of his cartel were captured, some were killed in the shootout. What does Guzman being back in prison, assuming this time it is to stay, what does it mean though to the Sinaloa cartel? Obviously they are always grooming the next generation of leadership.

HOOSTEN: One thing that you need to understand about the Sinaloa cartel is that it works as sort of multi-national franchise. It means if you cut off the head, the CEO which in this case Chapo Guzman, the organization will continue to function. And the proof of that was the fact that when he was captured in 2014. The Sinaloa cartel continued to function pretty much the way it did before.

And after his escape last year, the cartel continued to function exactly the same way. It is very unlikely that the Sinaloa cartel will change the way its working, that his arrest will cause much damage to it. But then again, the arrest and takedown in Chapo's in past had led to some violent infighting. The Sinaloa cartel has so far proven immune to that infighting but then again he hasn't been in prison for a very long time. So it remains to be seen if it going to cause a power struggle.

ALLEN: The journalist Jan-Albert Hootsen we appreciate you talking with us. Thank you.

HOOTSEN: Thank you.

ALLEN: As he just pointed out, these organizations, these cartels are also frightening dangerous and have caused so many deaths in Mexico.

Palo Sandoval explains the brutal bloody inner working of Mexico's deadly cartel. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORREPSONDENT: The dynamics of Mexico's cartel landscape are constantly changing, much like the population inside this maximum security prison just west of Mexico City.

FELIPE CLADERON, FRM. PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (Through Translator): We are going to defeat the criminals to finally build a peaceful Mexico.

SANDOVAL: Well, since former Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched an aggressive campaign against the cartels in 2006, there has been a tremendous outbreak of violence in the streets for the people of Mexico. You have just so many groups that are constantly fighting to gain control of very lucrative smuggling routes. They make their way north through Mexico and over America's southwest border. They didn't branch out across the country.

Think of it as a pipeline that's constantly used to smuggle people and drugs north and then money and guns south.

Currently, you have the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas that have been duking it out for nearly a decade in northeast Mexico. These are constant outbreaks of violence along border towns, really not far from south Texas.

[00:10:01] And then further south you have the smaller splinter cartels that are popping up, for example, Cartel Nueva Generacion, The New Generation.

These are a lot younger members, more violent.

Meanwhile, you have the more established organizations like the Juarez cartel and also the Sinaloa cartel. Any time they start picking a fight, blood gets spilled, criminals get killed, but also innocent men, women and children, thousands of them, have been caught in the crossfire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Horrific situation with the drug cartel and of course with the demand the United States for illegal drug sadly no end in sight. Even with the arrest of El Chapo.

We'll continue to explore his arrest and ramification here at CNN Newsroom.

Well, U.S. federal authority say the suspect accused of ambushing a Philadelphia police officer Thursday night, had travel to Saudi Arabia and Egypt within the past five years.

The FBI cannot say whether the man had interacted with any terrorist groups. Philadelphia police say the suspect said he shot the officer in the name of ISIS.

Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These photos show a man firing his gun directly into a Philadelphia police officer's car and police say he claims to have done it in the name of radical Islam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. (Inaudible) I'm shot. I'm bleeding heavily.

MARQUEZ: The suspect 30-year-old Philadelphia resident Edward Archer, allegedly ambushed officer Jesse Hartnett at close range, firing at least 11 shots from his nine millimeter pistol striking the officer three times in the arm.

JAMES CLARK, PHILADELPHIA POLICE CAPTAIN: He pledges his allegiance to Islamic state. He follows Allah and that is the reason he was call upon to do this.

MARQUEZ: Hartnett managed to get out of the car and return fire hitting the gunman in the buttocks, police arrested him and recovered the gun.

RICHARD ROSS, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISIONER: The bravery he demonstrated was absolutely remarkable. His will to live undoubtedly saved his life.

MARQUEZ: But it was revealed by the police commissioner that the weapon used was a stolen police gun.

ROSS: It was stolen back in October of 2013. It was reported. And that is one of the things that you absolutely regret the most when an officer's gun is stolen that it used against one of your own.

MARQUEZ: The FBI confirms its involvement, releasing a statement, "We are working side-by-side with the Philadelphia Police Department," but made it clear Philadelphia police are the lead agency in the case.

In response to this shooting and another attack on police in Paris, the New York police department issued an internal memo urging officers to exercise heightened vigilance and implement proactive measures at all times, reminding them that ISIS has called for supporters to carry out attacks on law enforcement.

JIM KENNEY, PHILADELPHIA MAYOR: Our main concern at the moment, today, is the well being and health and recovery and rehabilitation of Officer Hartnett.

ROSS: It is both confounding and astonishing he was able to escape it like this. And I can't say enough for his bravery and how he conducted himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Return to Egypt now where at least three European tourists were wounded on Friday when two men carrying knives attacked a hotel along the Red Sea coast. Interior ministry official say, one attacker was killed, the other wounded at the Bella Vista hotel that in the city of Hurghada. No group has claimed responsibility but Islamist militants have attacked Egyptian tourist attractions recently. Tourism is critical for the Egyptian economy.

North Koreans celebrate the country's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb. We'll take you inside of Pyongyang, the only U.S. broadcaster to there right now. We'll go live there next.

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[00:15:58] Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. North Koreans are celebrating after their leader Kim Jong-un said the country detonated a hydrogen bomb.

Meanwhile, at a rally on Friday North Korean official said the south propaganda broadcast at the militarize zone are pushing them to the brink of war. This of course is not new rhetoric.

Meantime, the foreign ministers of South Korea and China talked on Friday. The Chinese minister reaffirmed his countries position to Pyongyang nuclear test. China of course one of North Koreas very few allies.

CNN is the only U.S. broadcaster reporting from inside of North Korea. Our Will Ripley is there now. He joins us live in Pyongyang. More about the reaction Will that's going there in North Korea and this news of the people celebrating this supposed h-bomb test.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. They have been celebrating here Natalie and that you mentioned the officials at that rally here in Pyongyang talking about those loud speaker broadcasts pushing things toward the brink of war, yet again. Because remember, there was another incident over the summer involving though loud speakers.

And officials who I have been talking here in Pyongyang say, they would not be surprised to see military action along the demilitarized zone, the border between North and South Korea if the loud speaker broadcasts continue. And there could be more repercussions, as well with the U.S. set to talk next week about additional sanctions against the North Korean government.

Nonetheless, though, here on the streets of the North Korean capital, there's a lot of celebration. People have turned out to rallies. They were cheering. We could actually hear it from up here on 31st floor. We could hear a rally happening in the plaza below us yesterday.

And when we visited a brand new North Korean science and technology center and saw exactly how this message is pushed to the people, the importance of developing military weaponry, where you can see why the general population is so excited about a nuclear test.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: On the front page of North Korea's main state newspaper, Kim jong-Un signing the order to test what the regime calls a hydrogen bomb. Many outside observers question the claim. But there's no doubt among these students lined up outside Pyongyang Science and Technology Center.

The North Koreans say we're the first foreign media to visit the brand new building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a single science.

RIPLEY: North Korean researcher Lee Huan (ph) believes this week's nuclear test ensures peace even as much of the world calls it a dangerous provocative act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is only for the self defense.

RIPLEY: So the North Koreans want to be friends with Americans?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not.

RIPLEY: But the current climate makes that impossible. Years of isolation began during the previous Kim regimes. Young future scientists, doctors and other students have little or no access to the internet, only a state-controlled internet.

So you see a lot of students doing research here in the library and their using North Korea's version of the iPad.

They study surrounded by photos of their leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The tank number is 312...

RIPLEY: And models of North Korean weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means that our nation is very powerful.

RIPLEY: Medical student Lee Do Shang (ph) sits beneath the replica of a rocket that launched a North Korean satellite in to orbit.

LEE DO SHANG, NORTH KOREA, MEDICAL STUDENT (PH): This is only for peaceful process. We don't want war.

RIPLEY: But outside experts accuse North Korea's space program of being a front for ballistic missile development, missiles that could someday carry nuclear warheads across the region or even the world.

(END

RIPLEY: Incidentally those celebrations about the successful nuclear test were happening on the Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's birthday. But there was no national holiday, there were no banners in the streets or massive spectacles and celebrations like there are for the birthdays of the previous two leaders, Kim Jong-un's father and grandfather.

The reason for that, officials here in Pyongyang tell me, they say their supreme leader is very humble and doesn't want to make a big deal about his birthday.

[00:20:02] Although on his birthday week there was a nuclear test. One thing that he did do Natalie is he made sure that Pyongyang restaurants were well stocked with venison and pheasant to make sure that people have some extra meat to dine on in celebration of his birthday.

ALLEN: Which he is now 33 and runs North Korea. All right, Will Ripley for us live there in the capital of Pyongyang. Will thank you.

We're 50 kilometers south of the demilitarized zone, people in Seoul, South Korea don't seem too worried about the possibility nuclear threat. Some South Koreans tell Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson this is business as usual as Kim Jong-un's neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To the outside world, it may look like South Korea is skating on thin ice. But here in South Korean capital nuclear tensions are just a fact of every day life.

And clearly not with spoiling of good day of ice skating.

So when you heard about the nuclear test, what did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they have a serious nuclear bomb everybody will die. And so, if I worried about it noting happens. I just enjoy my, you know, normal life.

WATSON: You may as well go ice skating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

WATSON: Seoul is less than 30 miles, around 50 kilometers from the demilitarized zone, a city within easy reach of North Korea's conventional weapons. People have gotten used to treating news of North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal with a grain of salt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know the people here are just -- seem like it is no big deal. It's like everyone is walking around here. Does it look like there was a nuclear weapon fired, how far is it from here? A few hours away.

WATSON: Do Koreans care when the neighbor to the north sets off a nuclear blast?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course we do. They do. But we've been living in the situation for the past 60 years.

WATSON: But it's not like South Korea is completely unprepared. The subway system, for example, is designated as a shelter and many institutions carry out monthly drills in the event of an emergency.

To protect South Korea from the constant threat to the north, all men here have to do nearly two years of mandatory military service. In response to Wednesday's nuclear test, the government in Seoul ramped up military and cybersecurity. Still, the crisis hasn't stopped people here from enjoying a Friday night out. Barbecue, booze and a good deal of laughter. South koreans have grown accustom to living life on the edge.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Australian firefighters are working with to tackle a massive fire that has devastated a small town. We'll have the latest on this story right after this.

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ALLEN: A bushfire in Western Australia has wiped out a town, burning at least 120 homes and close to 60 thousand hectares. Flames are tearing through Yarloop, south of Perth. Thousands of people are without power after lightning started the fire on Wednesday. Four firefighters have suffered burns. And the forecast is less than ideal for firefighters trying to battle these flames.

[00:25:14] Our meteorologist Allison Chinchar is following it for us. Oh, my goodness, an entire town wiped out. That's a serious fire. Allison

ALLISON, CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is and most of it doubled just overnight. This was just about a day ago so that's the worse part. A lot of these folks didn't really have a lot of time to prepare to get in to their homes, get stuff out that they need.

Here's a look here again. A great image coming in from Waroona. You can really just see not only the expanse of the flames, but look at how high the smoke goes and how wide the smoke stretches, as well. Another footage that is coming out of the town of Yarloop in Western Australia. This is -- did notice how high the flames are. You can see them up to tree high. But look at the car looks it just looks dwarfed in comparison to some of these wildfires that we have been seeing.

Now again, it's in Western Australia. Here's the city of Perth just to kind of give you some frame of reference. There's been at least a few isolated bush fires in that area but the heaviest concentration has been farther down to the south. We will zoom it a little bit closer. Again here you can see Yarloop. Again a lot of these just being on the north side of that town.

But this particular series is the one we talk about when we say it doubled in size overnight. And again, here's some of the areas Waroona. This is an area we talked about. And again look at the populated area right here. You have a lot of homes, you have a lot of businesses and infrastructure and that's the stuff that really was taken a hard hit.

Now here's a look NASA imagery. This is actually a very interesting because you can tell where the fires are. Now the bright white that indicates the clouds but this gray brownish area right here just south of Warrona. This is smoke but this from Wednesday of this past week.

Fast forward to Thursday. Now notice how quickly it has spread. Again, this is all smoke right here. Now we push forward into Friday. It's a little bit harder to see because we actually had a little bit of some convection there. And that's what you can see here on the satellite.

In the last 24 hours they did at lease to have a little bit of some storms pushed in. That was actually bad thing because it wasn't heavy rain and actually it was bigger concern to have more lightning with a lot of this convection because that was the initial cause of some of the initial fires.

One good thing is Natalie the wind direction is going to start to change. And that's going to be beneficial for the firefighters fighting the blaze, but not likely going to be that much of an improvement until Sunday and Monday.

ALLEN: All right, summertime in Australia. All right, Allison, thank you.

And thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Natalie Allen. Our top stories are right after this.

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